


Firefly

by DonTheRock



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Disney, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, High School Musical - Freeform, Love, Romance, Teen Romance, hmstmts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:40:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22154932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DonTheRock/pseuds/DonTheRock
Summary: Ashlyn wants to be able to see Big Red more often, and she gets this opportunity when Big Red accidentally overhears her working on one of her songs. As the two grow closer, Big Red decides to come to some of the clubs Ashlyn is a part of in an attempt to find more time to spend with her, but he quickly learns that he may not be her best match.
Relationships: Big Red & Ashlyn Caswell, Big Red & Ricky Bowen (HSM: The Series), Redlyn – Relationship, Seb Matthew-Smith/Carlos Rodriguez
Comments: 19
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Ashlyn's POV**

The bomb shelter is noisy as I enter in, clogged with the sounds of people talking and the stomps of dancing. Kids run lines again that they have a history of stumbling over and perfect the songs they need to sing. There's no direction of what's going on. Each person is doing their own thing. 

Across the space, I spot Big Red and Natalie standing by the piano, conversing with scripts in hand, probably making some last-minute plans to ensure the smooth organization of sets, props, and lighting. When Big Red notices me looking at him, he smiles and gives me a wave. I respond with a wave of my own and begin walking in his direction, but almost immediately, I'm interrupted by the appearance of Carlos in my path. 

"Just the person I was looking for!" he exclaims. 

I glance again past him at Big Red who's gone back to chatting with Natalie. If I could, I would continue toward Big Red to see him, since theatre club is the only time when I easily have an excuse to talk to him, but I also value my friendship with Carlos, and I don't want him to feel neglected, so I take a breath and focus my attention on my friend. 

"Yes?"

"Okay," Carlos starts, "so I have an idea for the Spring musical, but I need an original song."

"What musical is it?" I ask.

His grin is practically bursting from his face as he replies, "Pirates of the Caribbean."

"Carlos, there's no music in Pirates of the Caribbean."

"That's why I need original songs," he says as though it's a wonder why I don't get it. 

I let out a sigh but smile softly at his enthusiasm for the subject. "What should the song be about?"

"Okay, so it's going to be an epic combat song for Will Turner and Jack Sparrow when they're fighting in the blacksmith shop." He gesticulates his words as he describes the song. "Very confrontational, argumentative back and forth, and most importantly, it must have a killer rhythm to dance to."

"Got it," I say with a smile. 

I step aside to move around him, but he stops me once more, adding, "Oh, and I also promised Seb he's have a piano solo."

I chuckle as I reply, "Piano solo for Seb. I'll make it happen."

He nearly jumps in excitement, and with a grin, he swirls away toward a group of dancers practicing the Stick to the Status Quo scene. I turn back to where Big Red was, but when I see him, him and Ricky are leaving, and Big Red doesn't even notice me as he heads out. 

Disappointed, I spin around and march over to Carlos, seeking to keep my mind occupied enough to not think about Big Red. Carlos cuts of his clapping of the beat for the dancers in front of him and turns to me. 

"How about a violin part?" I recommend. 

Instantly, he forgets what he was doing and absorbs into the conversation, spewing out ideas. "Yes, love that."

While he talks, I do my best to keep my thoughts on the song I have to write for my friend and not on the boy I missed my chance to see today. 

______________________________________

Night is always the easiest time for me to write due to its inherent stillness. The wind seems to have taken direction from the sky, calming into nothing more than a chill brushing the skiff of snowflakes on the ground in my backyard. It's warm for winter, however. The sun of the day combined with the barely below 32 night has created icicles lining the branches of the trees stripped bare of leaves by the season. 

I sit on the patio bench with my song book in my lap and wearing a fleece jacket. I sing a line then scribbled it out with my pen and rework it, sing it again, rework it again, move on to another part, come back to it: all part of the song-writing process. As I sing over what I have so far, I'm interrupted by the sound of crunching ice, and I look over to see Big Red standing at the open gate to the yard. 

"Sorry," he says. "I just heard you singing and—"

"No, it's okay," I cut him off. "I'm just messing around—"

"Well, it sounds good," he says. "Your voice."

I feel myself blushing and thank the night for the cover. 

"What are you doing out walking this late?" I ask.

"Oh, well, my mom wanted me to bring some weird seed bread over to my aunt's house," Big Red explains. "She lives a couple blocks down from here."

"Weird seed bread?"

"It's not very good. I think it was originally supposed to be bird food, but the author of the cook book decided it tasted good. It doesn't."

I laugh along with him, and something about the way he smiles makes my insides flutter. Seeing him still standing at the gate, I wave for him to come over, and he accepts the request. I make space for him on the bench beside me, and he sits down, his eyes wandering onto the open pages of my songbook. 

"What are you writing?"

"Um . . ." I fiddle with the pages, nervous to let him read them. "Carlos wanted me to write a song for the next musical/"

"Cool. Can I hear it?" Big Red asks. 

"Oh, no," I say, shaking my head. "I've only started it, and it's still got I need to fix."

"If it's anything like the song you write for Ms. Darbus, then I'm sure it's incredible."

I can't contain my smile and turn my head down to try to hide it. 

"I was just writing what I felt," I say.

When I turn my eyes back up to Big Red, his smile is so gentle that it makes my nerves soften. It's comforting, kind, a pure representation of him in a tiny action. 

"Thank you," I add.

"Do you always write your songs outside?" he asks.

"I find it helps get me focused," I tell him. "Kind of like the outside washes away everything from the inside, and all I have left to focus on is my music."

He smiles at that and scoots a little closer to get a better view of my book. "Need any help?"

Every second he spends here chips my guard a bit more, and I feel myself opening up to him involuntarily. "Actually," I reply, "do you know any words that rhyme with pirate?"

"Dire . . . it?" He breaks into laughter. "Sorry. I'm a props guy, not a songwriter. And I'm not really even that. I'm not sure what the qualifications are to be a props guy, but I'm positive I don't have them. I definitely didn't go into junior year expecting to be doing theatre at all."

"Some of the best parts of us become us by accident," I respond.

Big Red smiles, just looking at me for a moment before saying, "I can see why you're so good at writing songs. You have a really beautiful perspective on things."

"No," I deny, "I just . . . think a lot."

"Don't understate your talent," Big Red contends. "You're really talented."

His eyes mixed with the compliment stir up enough electricity in me to power a city, but instead it's being used to push my pulse absurdly fast. For a moment, it's quiet, us just looking at each other, and I don't feel the need to fill the silence with rambling or movement. I'm comfortable just sitting with him. But then he regains memory of the world around us and stands up. 

"I should get going," he says. "The last time I took a long time to get home, my mom thought I got eaten by a coyote and sent out a search squad of family to look for me."

I chuckle. "I coyote?"

"She says she saw one once while walking and won't stop bugging me about being careful."

"Well, I'm pretty sure there are no coyotes in my backyard, so I think you're good."

"Yeah, that was on a camping trip when she thought she saw one," Big Red adds. "She can be kind of overprotective."

Laughter absorbs us both, and when it fades away, I say, "Well, I won't keep you, then."

Big Red gives me another smile, and after a few seconds, he takes a breath and turns to go. As he nears my gateway, I stop him once more. 

"Hey, Big Red?"

He spins back to face me.

"If you happen to be passing by again tomorrow, I don't mind having help writing," I say.

He grins and replies, "You know, I think my aunt will probably want some more seed bread brought over."

I smile, already tingling with the anticipation of seeing him again. "Then I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," he confirms before turning and continuing toward the sidewalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who don't know, the bomb shelter is what they call the room they always practice in downstairs. Ricky called it that in the second episode after Nini and Ashlyn's song. I think this is cute so far. I'm gonna try to keep it fairly short and sweet, so yeah. Thank you guys for reading, and please comment as you read. I love reading the comments.


	2. Chapter 2

**Big Red's POV**

As soon as I enter the school, Ricky spots me in the hall and runs up to walk alongside me toward my locker. He doesn't spend any time on greetings. He jumps right into an explanation of everything happening between him and Nini as of today. 

"So she said that we could start again, right," he rambles, "but I don't know how to do that when I'm still in love with her. How do I just start over all my feelings?"

"Dude, it's just a phrase people use," I tell him. "You don't need to completely wipe away your past with her. You just need to take things slow and give her time to get used to things again."

"It's hard, you know, because I love her, and I want her to know that, and I just want to get back to the way we were in the summer before I screwed everything up. But I don't want to put pressure on her."

"Then don't pressure her," I say. "When you spend time with her, focus on being with her, not being _with_ her. You know?"

"I think so," Ricky confirms. 

We get up to my locker, and I stop, the two of us clogging the traffic of kids flowing through the hall. They quickly adapt to the changing pattern of movement and walk around us. 

"So Nini and I are going ice skating tonight," Ricky says as he takes out his phone. "Can I get your opinion on which tux I should wear?"

He starts flipping through the options in his camera roll, and I interrupt him, saying, "No, dude. No tux. You're not going to a United Nations conference. You're going ice skating."

"No tux," Ricky repeats. "Okay."

Right as he says that, a puff of curly hair catches my eye, and I see Ashlyn walking by. I give her a wave, which she returns, making me smile wide and my palms go sweaty. I tuck my hands in my sleeves to try to smudge away the moisture forming as a result of seeing the beautiful girl. 

Ricky follows the situation with his eyes, flicking them from Ashlyn to me. 

"You're smiling more than when the dentist said you had no cavities," he remarks. "What's up?"

I was planning to tell Ricky sooner, but he started talking about Nini. Now he's about to play the role of the supportive friend, one I've taken during all his Nini drama. 

"I passed by Ashlyn's house yesterday evening," I explain, "and ended up staying and talking to her for a while. It was really nice having it just be the two of us. I feel like that never happens. Anyway, so she wants me to come over again today to help her write a song she's been working on."

"Dude," Ricky says with a chuckle, "you're terrible at writing songs."

"She knows that," I assure him. "I couldn't even think of a rhyme for pirate when she asked me for one."

Ricky furrows his brows. "I'm pretty sure nothing rhymes with pirate."

"Well, that helps me feel better," I say with a sigh of relief. "Thanks for boosting my confidence."

Ricky smiles. "Anytime," he says as he raises his hand to give me a fist bump, which I accept.

_______________________________________

**Ashlyn's POV**

The rest of the theatre club is practicing for the upcoming performance, and I should be doing the same thing, reviewing my lines as Ms. Darbus, but I've fallen instead servant to the gust of inspiration that's pushed me to the piano where I sit practicing a tune that came to my head. At first, I thought maybe I could use it for the pirate song, but now I've started thinking of lyrics that have nothing to do with that. I wasn't intending to get my feelings surrounded my situation with big Red into a composure, but somehow here I am, humming words I can't say out loud for fear that someone may hear me.

While I play, I'm startled by Carlos's voice as he flutters over to the backside of the piano, looking ahead at me. 

"Ashlyn, you're glowing," he chirps. "I would love to think that it's because you're just having the best time writing the song I asked for, but I have a feeling it's not that."

"It's not," I say with a slight chuckle, then quickly add, "No offense."

"None taken," he says with a grin. The boy winds around the piano and plops down next to me on the bench. "Okay, spill."

I haven't told anyone about my feelings for Big Red yet, but considering Carlos is among the closest of my friends, I figure he's the best person to first disclose the news to. 

"I don't want to get my hopes up in case it's nothing," I begin.

"But . . ."

"I think Big Red and I might—we might have a thing. Like, when we talk, we just kind of click."

Carlos tilts his head, saying, "Sweetie, I could've told you that. I shipped you two from the second I saw him twirl you during our dance to save Miss Jenn."

That makes me smile, and I can feel my face burning up. It's nice to know that Carlos also thinks Big Red and I are a good match.

"The problem is," I explain, "I don't really have much time to see him. I mean, with baking club, robotics, creative writing club, drum circle, murder mystery club—"

"What's murder mystery club?" Carlos questions.

"We pretty much just watch movies and play murder mystery games sometimes. It's really fun. You should come."

"I'll put it in my calendar."

"Anyway," I continue, "I basically have no time to uphold a relationship."

"But you two are so cute," Carlos pouts.

I release a disappointed sigh, regretting the decisions I made to overfill my schedule. I can still do this, right? I can find the time. 

"I'm going to try to make it work," I say.

"Oh my gosh," Carlos gasps, a light bulb flashing in his head. "You two can come on a double date with me and Seb."

"That's assuming he even likes me that way," I respond.

"He does," Carlos insists, sounding so certain it's hard to dispute.

I smile. "What would I do without your unrealistically large faith in me?"

"I wonder that every day." 

Unable to keep a straight face, Carlos breaks into a laugh, making me do the same. It's true what I said, though. I've never had much luck with boys, while Carlos, on the other hand, is very lucky there. I'm not sure if it's even luck. He just has this charm that I couldn't possibly emulate. Yet he has this undying belief that I could get any guy I wanted, and that's really nice to have in a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I know. I think the next chapter will be longer, but who knows. Sorry for being a day late. Turns out all my classes have insane amounts of work. And now I'm hungry, so I'm gonna go eat lunch. Bye!


	3. Chapter 3

**Big Red's POV**

There's a light on in the living room as I approach her house. I keep my hands tucked in my pockets to prevent them from getting frost bite, for tonight's colder than last night was, which I suppose explains why I don't hear any humming in the air. Instead, I see the girl's figure cast a shadow inside. The faint ring of piano strings seeps through the walls as I approach the door. The music halts when I knock, and a second later, Ashlyn's smile greets me. 

"Hey," she says. "You actually came."

The reaction worries me. Was she only being polite yesterday? Would she actually rather be alone? 

"Of course," I reply. "Do you not want me here?"

"No," she corrects me frantically. "I just figured you might've forgotten or, you know, had better things to do."

Usually, humility is a blessing, but in her case, it's keeping her from being able to see how special she is. There's nothing I'd rather do than be here with her. 

"If there's something better than you, I can't think of it," I say. 

Her eyes seem to sparkle at my response as she silently takes it in. Then she steps out of the way and lets me into the house. She steps on ahead of me over to her piano, rushing to flip the pages of her songbook.

"I was just working on some chords for the beginning of the song," she says.

She sits down on the piano bench, and I take a seat beside her. She smiles as I do, which gives me a fuzzy warmth inside, gentle as glowing coal, but loud as sparklers. She seems to emanate the sensation whenever she's close to me, and I'd give anything to have it stay, to have her stay next to me as long as possible. 

She starts with a C add9 chord, going into a G, then a D, and an Em. She plays with the grace of starlight twinkling in a black sky, her hands floating effortlessly between the notes. I end up staring at the girl, thinking about this, and somehow the words just come out my mouth without me thinking about it: "Like starlight."

She stops her playing and looks at me, confused. "What?"

A blush paints my face as I try to explain what I said without saying too much. "Your playing. It reminds me of starlight." I laugh nervously, failing to find how to describe it. "I don't know why."

She turns her own shade of red, looking down at the keys and back to me. 

"Or maybe more like a firefly," I hear myself babble. "Because there is an endless number of stars, but fireflies are special. There aren't many animals that create their own light like they do."

She stares at me, mouth slightly agape, and I fear made her uncomfortable, but after a moment, she speaks up, saying, "You're really good at knowing exactly what to say." She shakes her head subtly in disbelief. "I love fireflies. Ever since I was six years old and learned what one was, I would draw pictures of them, get books about them. I even had a light in my room that was the shape of a moon with fireflies dangling from it."

"Is it still there?" I ask.

"No. I became less obsessed as I got older, but I always loved them. I think it's what you said: they're beautiful, unlike anything else."

"Kind of like you."

She catches my smile and looks back to her music. She brings her hands back to the instrument and begins playing again, as if trying to fill the space that plain words can't fill. 

"What was the song you were playing before I got here?" I ask, recalling the music I heard through from her porch.

"What song?" she says, her face flushing in an instant, letting me know that I struck something she's reluctant to share. 

"The one before you got the door," I say. "It wasn't this one."

"Oh, yeah," she says, pretending to only now realize what I'm talking about. "That song. That was just me messing around."

"Well, it sounded good," I tell her. "Can I hear it?"

"Uh . . ." She hesitates before replying, "Sure."

She plays from memory, not making a single mistake. It's unfinished, but that may be even better because her singing leaves me hanging off each lyric like a raindrop on a flower petal, not wanting to let go, feeling too unprepared to continue falling to the ground. I want to stay in this song, listening to her flower petal voice, her firefly voice, the way I want to stay here with her until the world forces me away. **_[Go to_**<https://youtu.be/t1hpvS3VGAg> **_to hear the song]_**

_"I'm falling hard.  
Is my whole heart  
some kind of perfect disaster._

_"I'm outta my mind,  
so tell me why  
I can't take no for an answer._

_"Am I hanging on a dream?  
I wish I could shake this off of me._

_"But I just can’t let this leave  
when he's the only perfect part of me."_

When she stops playing, the world falls silent. Every hum of the vents, every hum of electric current throughout the lights, every gust of wind outside—everything drops to their knees in awe of this one girl. 

"Wow," I breathe. I want more than anything to ask who it's about, but if it's not me, I'll be crushed, so instead, I ask, "When did you write that?"

"Today," she answers. "Felt inspired."

"By what?" I ask before I can think to stop myself.

She smiles, as if telling me I already know the answer. Her eyes hook onto mine, drawing me in like a queen before her people. I'm powerless in her presence, reminded of everything I didn't realize I needed, everything I desperately want but don't see how I could possibly deserve. The jewels of her crown glimmer under the firelight of lanterns hanging from the ceiling of her palace. She owns me right now. 

We get closer, close enough for me to see the honey brown of her eyes and the freckles over her nose. Our lips are almost together when the stomping of feet startles her away, and we both turn to see who I assume must be her dad stepping into the room. 

"Ashlyn—Oh, hi." He looks at me. "I didn't realize Ashlyn had company."

"Dad, this is Big Red."

"Hi," I say shyly. 

"Hi." Then he looks over to his daughter again, focusing on her. "Ashlyn, have you made those cupcakes for your sister's bake sale that you said you'd make?"

She gets up from the bench and starts going over to her dad, saying, "Not yet. I'll do that tonight."

"Good," her dad says. "Amy's counting on you. We have enough ingredients for you to make some extra for your friend here, if he wants any."

"Thanks," Ashlyn says before her dad leaves to go back upstairs. When he's gone, she looks to me. "I should probably work on that. Sorry we couldn't work on the pirate song more."

"That's okay," I say. 

She heads into the kitchen and searches one of the cabinets for a recipe book while I continue talking. 

"You're in baking club, right?"

"I am," she confirms. 

"That's so cool. I've always wanted to learn how to bake."

She sets the book down and turns to me. "Well, there's a baking club meeting tomorrow evening if you want to join?" 

"I'd love to," I answer. 

She smiles. "Awesome. It's in the cooking room at 6:00."

"I'll be there," I say. 

I let myself out of the house, allowing her to get started on her baking. Right when I step into the cold and close the door, I realize I probably could've stayed to help her with the baking. But I decide it would be awkward for me to go back in now, so I step down onto the sidewalk and start toward home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song here was one I already had written, and I just changed some of the lyrics. Sorry this chapter came out so late. I wanted to record me playing the song for y'all to be able to hear, but my family was being loud, so I had to wait until they weren't around. I love this chapter and think it's really cute, so I hope you all like it. I realized I haven't been as invested in my writing lately and it shows, so I really put my heart and soul into this, and I really like how it turned out. I love you all! Goodbye!


	4. Chapter 4

**Ashlyn's POV**

The school is quiet, as one should expect in the evening. The baking club is already gathering through the door behind me, but I stand in the hall, waiting. It's almost time for the meeting to start, and I'm beginning to think that he may not be coming. Maybe I scared him away with the song I wrote about him. 

I hear footsteps coming, and I perk up, thinking it's him, but the person who turns the corner is just Ally, one of my friends in baking club. She smiles, and I do my best to return in. 

"Hey," she says. "You coming in?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm just waiting for someone."

"Well, it looks like they're gonna be late. Come on in, and they can join when they get here."

"Yeah," I breathe. "I suppose that works."

I turn to follow Ally into the room, but backtrack instantly when I hear Big Red's voice shouting.

"Ashlyn!"

I spin to see him panting for air as she slows in front of me. 

"I'm so sorry I'm late," he says. "Some guy parked in front of our driveway, so I couldn't back out my car, and there weren't any bus times, so I had to get Ricky to give me a ride."

"It's okay," I tell him. "You went through a lot more to get here than it's honestly worth. I wouldn't have been mad if you had just said you couldn't make it."

"You're worth it," he says. 

Here he goes with those eyes again. They compel me to make a decision to either step away, snapping off the connection, or kiss him. My failure to break my stare from his promises the latter, but Ally popping her head out of the door steals the moment. 

"Oh, good, you found your friend," she says. "You guys should come in. We're making brownies."

Big Red looks nervous as he enters behind me. The nine other in the club all smile at the entrance of a new member. We rarely ever get new people, so this is a moment for the books. 

"Big Red, welcome to baking club," says Clement. 

"You know me?" Big Red responds, surprised.

"Of course. I'm also in yearbook club, and I always have to explain to the new kids that your Big Red is the name they legally have to put in the yearbook."

I let out a laugh, he's already getting along with them. 

"Have you already started with the brownies?" I ask. 

"Yeah, we're just mixing the ingredients," Claire, another girl in the club, replies. "But I know you have your own special recipe, so we got the raspberries ready on the counter by the stove."

"Awesome, thanks."

The others in the club get back to their baking as I take Big Red over to the far corner of the kitchen area to start making the dessert.

"Have you baked before?" I ask him.

"Uh, I made cookies once at my grandma's using a recipe on the back of a peanut butter jar," he replies. 

"Well, that's better than nothing."

We both giggle, and I take out some mixing bowls from the cupboard. Step by step, I instruct him on which ingredients to grab. Out of the corner of my eye, I swear I can see him looking at me while I dig through one of the drawers to find a whisk. When I turn back to him, he doesn't take his eyes away.

"What?"

He smiles. "Just admiring the view."

Beaming at how cute he is, I give him a nudge, feeling the need to cover my grin, although he's not trying to hide his. 

"Hey, Ashlyn," Ally calls. "Do you think mint would be good to add?"

"In your recipe?" I respond. "No, don't—" I cut off my own sentence and turn to Big Red, saying, "I'm gonna help her real quick. You can add the flour and salt, and I'll be back by the time that's done."

He gives me a nod of confirmation, and I go over to my friend to find out what she's trying to do with her brownies. After a bit of debate between me, her, and the two others working with her, we all settle on a walnut brownie, leaving mint out of the equation. 

Big Red and I finish our brownies together, and while they cook in the oven, we join the rest of the baking club in a game of Uno at one of the tables. We're dealt in after the game's already started, so we're at a disadvantage right away, but somehow Big Red is the first to call Uno.

"You already have one left?" I say. 

"Me and my cousins always have play Uno every Christmas," he explains. "There's only enough space for one of us at the regular table, so the first person to win doesn't have to sit at the kids' table."

"That's one way to decide that," I say, laughing. "My parents just always stick me with my younger cousins because they say they need supervision, and according to them, I'm more responsible than EJ."

His laughter is cut off by a timer going off in the kitchen. A couple people get up to get their pastries. Soon, our brownies are done too, and Big Red and I go over to take them out of the oven. Once everyone has theirs plated, we set them in the middle of the table, creating a buffet of brownies for us to enjoy.

Big Red reaches for one of Ally's and tries it. 

"Mmmm," he says as he finishes chewing. "So you guys basically just get to make food once a week and don't even have to pay for the ingredients? Sounds like a pretty awesome club."

His comment is well-received from the others who all chuckle as they devour the snacks. Then I start to notice the faces of my peers begin scrunching in disgust, and I realize they're eating my brownies. Clement can't even finish swallowing his bite. He has to spit it out into a napkin. 

"What's wrong?" I wonder.

I look over to Big Red doesn't seem to have a clue either.

"Did you replace the sugar with salt or something?" Clement questions.

"Oh," comes Big Red's voice.

"I watched you put in the sugar," I say. 

:"Yeah, but I couldn't find the flour, so I used protein powder instead."

My jaw falls open. Protein powder? Seriously? It really is his first real time baking. 

"It's okay," Clement says with a chuckle. "It's pretty funny, actually."

Then I notice Ally bring her hands up to her neck, and when she speaks, her voice is hoarse. "Guys, I think I'm having an allergic reaction."

"What?" Claire says. "What's happening?"

"My throat is tight, and I'm feeling dizzy, and . . ."

Her voice trails off as I see her face go pale, and she springs out of her chair and to the nearest garbage can. The smell of vomit wafts from where she starts hurling. Claire holds the girl's hair back, and she looks to us with a look of fear. 

"Call 9-1-1!"

Clement gets on it right away, and I turn to Big Red. 

"What else did you put in the brownies?" I question. 

The poor kid looks so pained. It hurts me a little to see his blue eyes dimmed with disappointment as he stands, shoulders tensed in worry. 

"Just some oregano," he replies. "I thought it would add more flavour. I didn't mean to give her an allergic reaction."

When I see tears building in his eyes, I grab his hand and pull him out into the hall, wanting to get him away from the situation.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I shouldn't have come."

"No, hey, it's not your fault," I tell him gently. "You didn't know."

He doesn't say anything to that. He just keeps his eyes downward, too discouraged to hold his chin up. 

"Okay, so maybe baking club's not for you," I say. "We can do something else."

Big Red nods, bringing his eyes back up to mine. "Okay. Are you busy friday?"

"Actually, I am," I say. "I have to go to my cousin's piano recital."

"Tomorrow?" 

"I have murder mystery club," I say, "but why don't you come to that?"

"No chance of me poisoning someone by mistake in that club, right?"

"Ironically, no one's gotten hurt at murder mystery club before," I reply.

"Okay," he says. "I'll give it a shot." 

"Okay," I say.

Suddenly, a swarm of EMTs dash past us. We follow them into the room, and a couple minutes later, they're wheeling Ally out to an ambulance. 

"Is she gonna be okay?" Big Red asks, stopping one of the EMTs as she passes by.

"She'll be fine," the woman replies. 

I see the worry release from the boy's face as the EMT heads off to continue her work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely came up with that on the spot. I think it was an exciting twist. I love you all. Have a good night!


	5. Chapter 5

**Ashlyn's POV**

"Ashlyn," Carlos says as he places his tray of food on the table and sits down across from me. "I'm hoping you can clarify why everybody's saying that Ally caught rabies from Natalie Bagley's guinea pig at baking club last night."

Seb sits beside his boyfriend, looking equally concerned. 

"What? No," I reply. "She went into anaphylactic shock from an allergy to oregano."

Carlos puts his palm to his chest as he sighs a breath of relief. "That makes much more sense. Wait, why were you using oregano?"

"Were you making a spice cake?" Seb wonders. 

"Nope. Brownies."

Seb furrows his brows. "Why were you putting oregano in brownies?"

"Big Red did it," I say with a sigh. 

"Oh, he came?" Carlos says. "How'd that g— Never mind."

"It was great at first," I say, but then we ate the food."

"Well, now that he knows not to put oregano in things, he'll be better next time," Carlos says cheerfully. 

I lean forward to say, "He used protein powder in place of flower."

Looks of disgust flash across both Carlos and Seb's faces. 

"I just feel so bad about it all," I say. "He really wanted to find a way for us to hang out more, and I do too, but baking is not his thing. He's coming to murder mystery club tonight, and I'm pretty sure we're just watching a movie, so hopefully that goes well."

"As long as there's no protein powder or oregano, I think it will," Seb says. 

"Plus," Carlos adds, "Seb will be there too."

I struggle to make the connection. "How does that help things with Big Red go better?"

"Everything's better when Seb's there," Carlos answers.

"Aww," Seb responds.

The blonde leans in to give his boyfriend a kiss, and I would find it cute if my own love life weren't so rocky right now. It sort of feels like life is trying to make it as difficult as possible for me and Big Red to be together. I'm just praying that all the knots will work themselves out.

_______________________________________

**Big Red's POV**

Murder Mystery club is taking place in the same classroom as my math class. I left early this time to make sure I wouldn't be late, and it paid off. I'm here with five minutes to spare. I enter the room and see a projector set up and about ten kids sitting in the chairs and on desk tops. Among them, I see Carlos with his arm over Seb's shoulder, Seb with his arms tight around the other boy's waist, and Ashlyn who smiles and waves me over. I sit up on the desk beside her, which she's already shoved together with hers. 

"Hi," I say. 

I get flashbacks of yesterday and feel the need to look around, not sure what exactly for, mainly just to mark down any possible things I could use to mess up that I should be avoiding. 

"You okay?" Ashlyn asks. 

"Do you know if Ally's alright?"

"She's fine," Ashlyn assures me. "She stayed home from school today to rest, but she's totally fine. No lasting effects."

"Thankfully."

"You don't have to worry about anything today," I tell him. "We're just watching a movie."

"Oh, cool," I respond. 

Just a movie. No way for me to wreck that. Right?

A boy gets our attention from the front of the room as he says, "Am I good to start it now?"

A collective yes is voiced, and the boy presses a button on his computer. The black projection fades into the opening title of the film, and I realize it looks familiar.

"Hey, is this the movie with the doctor who murders his patients and the detective with the yellow hat who has to figure it out?"

Suddenly, all heads turn to me, and my mistake becomes apparent. Humiliated, I get up and rush to get out of the room. Right as I get through the doorway, Ashlyn grabs my hand, making me turn back. 

"Stay," she says. 

"I spoiled it," I respond. "I'm not good at being part of your clubs. I don't fit in with any of them."

She doesn't argue with that. She just nods, her eyes reflecting her disappointment. I don't know if it disappointment in me or the situation, but either way, I agree. 

"I'm just gonna go," I say. 

I take a step back, but she speaks once more, making me pause for another moment to listen to her say, "We always have theatre club."

"Yeah," I mutter. "At least there's that."

I turn and walk away down the hall. Sure, we're in theatre club, but does that even count when I joined it completely by accident? Ashlyn said that sometimes the best parts of us become us by accident, but I've been ruining my chances with Ashlyn by accident. Maybe that's a sign. Maybe she's too good for me. That's probably true.

**Ashlyn's POV**

I clench my teeth to try to combat my frustration as I watch Big Red leave. He's so sweet, but he just doesn't always think things through. Such a trait is amazing when in need of spontaneity or ideas or words that keep a conversation interesting, but apparently not when trying not to spoil an ending to a movie. Once he's gone, I realize I should've said more. I should've told him I liked him and that he didn't need to try so hard to fit into my life as it is because I'll shape everything around him. I just hope I'll be able to talk to him tomorrow at theatre club. I don't want this to pass away without me doing everything I can to catch it. 

Glumly, I enter back into the room, the film still playing on the screen. I sit down on my desk again, now alone. Beside me, I notice Seb and Carlos glance at me then let go of each other and sit up straight.

"What are you doing?" I whisper to them. 

"Trying to be respectful of the moment," Carlos replies. 

"Don't," I tell them. "No need to let my failure of a love life wreck your perfect one."

Carlos and Seb exchange looks then stand up and come over to the two desks I'm sitting on, one of them squeezing in next to me on each side. Their attempt to comfort me actually kind of works, for I can't help but smile. 

"What did I do to deserve friends like you?" I say. 

"Sweetie," Carlos says, "don't question it. Just accept it."

I smile and let their presence hold me together throughout the rest of the movie. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter. Who's ready? I don't know how it will turn out, but hopefully good? Yeah, anyway, have a good night! Also, I'm starting a new story, called Us In Red, based on HSMTMTS soon, so look forward to that! Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

**Big Red's POV**

"What's up, bro?" Ricky says when he sees me. "You look kinda down."

The theatre club meeting is just starting, so only about half of the members are here yet. I'm carrying a bucket of basketballs in, because Carlos wanted to go over the 'Get Your Head in the Game' scene again, so I had to lug them from the gym all the way to here. On any other day, this wouldn't be so exhausting, but I'm already feeling worn out from the events of last night. I debated just going home after school instead, but Natalie stopped me in the hall and asked me to show her how the lights work, and I couldn't exactly say no. 

"Honest?" I say.

"Honest."

"I'm not too great. I went to Ashlyn's murder mystery club yesterday."

"Isn't that good?" she questions, chuckling a little in confusion. "Didn't you say you liked her?"

"Which is precisely why it's not good, because about three seconds into the movie, I spoiled the ending."

"Yikes," Ricky responds. "Maybe murder mystery club isn't for you. Try doing something else."

"Baking club's not for me, either," I mumble. 

His eyes go wide. "You were at baking club? I heard Natalie Bagley's guinea pig gave Ally rabies."

"She didn't get rabies," I retort, fed up with the amount of times I've heard that story. "She had an allergic reaction to the oregano I put in the brownies."

"Why were you putting oregano in the brownies?" 

"Because I'm an idiot," I sigh. 

I fall back onto the bench behind me, putting my face in my hands. 

"No, come on, man." Ricky sits down beside me, trying to do his best to sympathize with me, but sympathy's never been a strength for him and it's apparent. "That's better than rabies."

"Ashlyn's too good for me," I utter. "She can sing, act, write songs . . . All I can do is mess things up."

"No, dude," Ricky denies. "You're way more than that. You're the best friend a guy can have. You give great advice. You know basically everything there is to know about pelicans. You're a catch, man."

Then a voice I know off by heart replies, "I agree."

I look up to see Ashlyn smiling at me, and I can't tell whether I feel better or worse. Mostly, I'm just embarrassed. She's the epitome of perfection, and I can't keep from doing something dumb when I'm around her. She makes me forget whatever I'm thinking about just by looking at me with her pretty brown eyes, the same ones that have claimed a permanent space in my mind, invading every thought I have. She's everywhere and everything and all I could ever need.

"Can I talk to you?" she asks. 

Ricky nudges me with his elbow, and I take the push and nod. I follow her out of the room and into the hallway. The wall creates a barrier, reducing the noise from the room to nothing but a murmur, giving all the power to Ashlyn's presence, which strums the air softly, making music out of the silence. 

Then she speaks. "You know I like you."

Sure, I guess I must've known, but having a hunch and hearing the confirmation are two completely different things. One is just a fantasy made up in my head, and the other is—well, magic. And if anyone is magic, it's her. She already proved that to me the first day I met her and fell under a spell she didn't mean to cast. 

"I like you too," I respond. "But I keep messing up, and we can't seem to find any time—"

"Big Red," she interrupts me. "Do you believe that I can do anything I set my mind too?"

"Well, yeah, of course," I answer. 

She takes a step closer to me. "Bid Red." 

"Yeah?"

"My mind is set."

Then she closes the gap, bringing her lips to mine, and I suddenly forget why I ever doubted that we could be together. We were created to be together. Everything from the feel if her hands on my shoulders to the pulse of our interconnecting heartbeats proves that to me. 

When her power over me subsides, she backs away with a smile. 

"I know of one club you could try coming to, and I think you'd really like it," she says. "Have you ever been to theatre club?"

I catch her laughter, feeling a sense of harmony that I've never felt before. As I look at this beautiful firefly of a girl I've been blessed with, I realize something. I thought her on her own was as close to perfection as I'd ever get to experience, but I was wrong. Us together now _is_ perfection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it. Short little ending, but I didn't want to drag it out unnecessarily long. I've never ended a story at a kiss before, but I felt like this was the one to do it. I love you all, and I hope you liked the story.


	7. Alternate Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an alternate version of chapter 6.

**Big Red's POV**

"What's up, bro?" Ricky says when he sees me. "You look kinda down."

The theatre club meeting is just starting, so only about half of the members are here yet. I'm carrying a bucket of basketballs in, because Carlos wanted to go over the 'Get Your Head in the Game' scene again, so I had to lug them from the gym all the way to here. On any other day, this wouldn't be so exhausting, but I'm already feeling worn out from the events of last night. I debated just going home after school instead, but Natalie stopped me in the hall and asked me to show her how the lights work, and I couldn't exactly say no.

"Honest?" I say.

"Honest."

"I'm not too great. I went to Ashlyn's murder mystery club yesterday."

"Isn't that good?" she questions, chuckling a little in confusion. "Didn't you say you liked her?"

"Which is precisely why it's not good, because about three seconds into the movie, I spoiled the ending."

"Yikes," Ricky responds. "Maybe murder mystery club isn't for you. Try doing something else."

"Baking club's not for me, either," I mumble.

His eyes go wide. "You were at baking club? I heard Natalie Bagley's guinea pig gave Ally rabies."

"She didn't get rabies," I retort, fed up with the amount of times I've heard that story. "She had an allergic reaction to the oregano I put in the brownies."

"Why were you putting oregano in the brownies?"

"Because I'm an idiot," I sigh.

I fall back onto the bench behind me, putting my face in my hands.

"No, come on, man." Ricky sits down beside me, trying to do his best to sympathize with me, but sympathy's never been a strength for him and it's apparent. "That's better than rabies."

"Ashlyn's too good for me," I utter. "She can sing, act, write songs . . . All I can do is mess things up."

"No, dude," Ricky denies. "You're way more than that. You're the best friend a guy can have. You give great advice. You know basically everything there is to know about pelicans. You're a catch, man."

I look up at him and give him a weak smile. "Thanks."

Ricky matches my eyes, and I notice him start bouncing his leg rapidly, they way he does when he gets nervous. He does it subconsciously, most of the time without even knowing, but I know him well enough to know that this means he has something he wants to say that he's holding back. 

"If it counts for anything," he says. "I'd date you."

At first, I think he's just being supportive, but when I look at him, I see something in his eyes. Vulnerability. He's been real. He's saying what I'd wanted him to say for so long before I accepted that he would never feel that way about me and moved on. This changes everything. 

I see his eyes flicking down to my lips as he moves closer, closer to the point where I can feel his breath on my skin. 

"What about Nini?" I whisper. 

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

And then it happens. His lips touch mine, and I take it in like grass takes in the rain. What I thought had succumb to the moss climbing over it sprouts strong again, green rushing back to every branch and leaf. The feelings I've felt since we were in elementary school pretending to be soldiers in his backyard were never truly gone, just dormant. And as he kisses me, I wait for the dream to end, for me to wake up and see him holding Nini's hand. But when we do drift apart, his eyes are on me, and he's looking just as awestruck as me. That actually happened. 

The worst part of it all, the part I wish I could skip, is when Ricky and I finally remember the world around us, and I look around at all the bewildered faces staring at us. Maybe both of us have a talent at messing things up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry, but this came to my head when writing the ending, and it was just so stupid that I had to do it. So here's a little Redky surprise for y'all. Anyway, sorry for ruining the perfectly good Redlyn story. I love you all. Have a dandy day. Also, check out my other story, Us In Red. Please! I'm working so hard on it, and I think it's gonna be neat.


End file.
